THE STORY OF LIGHTFORCE
by ShadowTeam
Summary: Over one thousand years before the events of the SHADOW series, Lightforce had gone on her own incredible journey alongside her friends Satoshi and Rift. Experience the tale of her own adventure, and discover the origins of the demon, Marxus. Chpt 2 UP!
1. Prologue: Genesis

-Genesis-

May 23, 528

"Satoshi."

…

_. "Greetings, my friend." The old one said to him. The creature turned its head to the man, as its intelligence kicked in. He tilted his head, observing the man before speaking. "…Where am I?" the Pokémon asked in complete English. The old man smiled as what he hoped was confirmed. "You are home, friend."_

…

"Satoshi."

"Mmph…"

…

"_Home?" the Pokémon repeated. "Yes, home. This place is home, the place where you live, where you eat, where you sleep. Remember, you Pikachu?" the Pikachu stared at him blankly before its ears lowered, distraught. "But…I don't remember this…In fact…" The Pikachu mumbled, "I don't even remember who…I Am." _

_The old one blinked and made a frown. "You don't remember? You must have been…hurt a lot more than we thought, Shadow."_

…

"Satoshi!"

…

"_Shadow?"_

…

"SATOSHI!"

"Woah!"

The spiky haired young man jolted from his sleep, his eyes wide as he looked around himself. He sat on a gray bench made from polished concrete, elegant with its baroque-style curves. Adjusting to his sudden awakening, he breathed out and looked up towards the towering warrior standing over him, at least seven and a half feet tall.

Dark blue metal was strewn together tightly over the man's shoulders and gray metal across his chest in rectangular pieces like a samurai's. The white cloth from his shirt under the armor was a little wet from sweat, and he wore long gray pads that were strapped onto the fronts of his arms and legs. The leggings of a light tan hakama held to his waist by a leather belt with a Pokéball-like symbol at the front gently waved in the breeze. Armored leather boots covered his feet, their tops hidden by the bottoms of his hakama. His head was covered by a silver helmet with a visor that was flipped up, its shadow obscuring his face. A strap at his side restrained a rather wide-bladed greatsword in its silver-lined scabbard. A long, dark blue hooded cape extended down from his shoulders to his feet, tattered slightly at the bottom.

"Satoshi, where is your partner? It's time." The Knight said

Satoshi rubbed his hand through his spiky black hair. Instead of the samurai-style armor the Knight wore, Satoshi's armor looked more like thick padding that formed a vest over his shirt, like a flak jacket with no zipper on the front., colored the same shade of blue as the knight's armor, though far less faded. A hand-and-a-half sword with a gray cross guard and leather grip in its sheath hung from the left side of a pair of black pants with greaves strapped to the front.

Satoshi put his hand over his eyes to obscure the rays of the sun. He squinted across the stone path towards the small but radiant orchard that stood before the great, gray façade of the castle he was in. He smiled a little, eager to get on with what was coming. "Hold on, Master. I'll call for her."

He cupped his hands together, facing towards an apple tree with Oran berry bushes at the bottom of its trunk. "Lightforce!"

_Hm? _

"Lightforce!" He called out again, the confidence ablaze in his voice. "It's time! Let's show the Knights what we can do!"

_At last!_

The Master smiled, a shine in his dark blue eyes as he saw the apple tree's branches rustle for a moment before a Pikachu bounded out from the leaves. Her ears trailed back as she leapt across the grass to her partner, her heart indented tail wagging excitedly as she stopped at his feet.

Satoshi got on one knee and rubbed his hand atop her head, which she returned by nuzzling her nose up to his hand. "Are you ready, Lightforce?"

She looked up at him and nodded. (I've been waiting for this for just as long as you have, I'm as ready as you are, Satoshi.)

He stood straight up, his eyes towards the Knight in front of him. "Master, we're ready for whatever you all have. Lightforce and I have been training for this day for too long! We'll blow past any challenge you give us!"

The Master chuckled to himself, reaching up to the back of his helmet. Grasping the sides in both hands, he took off the helmet and held with one hand to his left, showing his bald head. The bridge of his nose was narrow, and diagonal age lines ran under his eyes. The side of his muscular neck had a tattoo that appeared to be a blue flame.

"I'll give you a plus for confidence, but don't be overconfident. There are others in there who want the same thing that you do, and they're just as willing to do whatever it takes to reach the mark."

Satoshi raised his fist in front of himself, his eyes locked with the knight's. "I know that, and I know that unless we're facing an actual knight in disguise, we still won't be beaten. Sir, I'm going to become a Knight today, and with Lightforce by my side no one is going to stand in our way."

"I'll hold you to that then, Satoshi. I'm sure my own partner will be interested in your battle. Follow me."

…

Satoshi could hear a rustle of voices from the ceiling overhead, one moment a simple chatter and then, as he heard the sound of an explosion or clashing metal from outside the wooden gate he stood next to, the voices rose to a crescendo of cheers. His hands laid out upon his lap, his head turned down to stare towards the floor, dimly lit along with the rest of the small passage by torches mounted on the brick walls.

_Just outside that door…everyone's going to be watching me. Mother, the doctor, the King…_

…_I can't doubt myself. I've come too far to let fear take me out of the game early. _

"Lightforce, our future waits just outside that door." Satoshi reflected, eyes turned to the Pikachu at his side. She looked up towards him, nodding in agreement. (Yes it is. All you and I have worked for since we met seven years has been for this moment…is something wrong?)

He swallowed, hearing another mighty clash of blades outside the walls. "I won't lie to you: I'm actually a little doubtful. I'm sorry, but the pressure is just…it's huge. Some of the most important people in the entire Kingdom are going to be watching us out there, against whoever we're going to fight. The King is going to be watching, and so are some of the Knights. I know we can beat most of our peers out there, but will it be enough to impress them?"

She stood up, eyed him inquisitively for a moment and then, unexpectedly, smacked him across the face with her tail.

The right side of his face stung even as his hand shot to it, a short groan issuing from his mouth the second after she had struck him. The area felt very raw right now, and as his hand lowered from his skin the area was reddening in the hand print that had been left behind. "Lightforce, what was that fo-." (Satoshi, stop it! You can't talk like that, now that we're right outside that door!) She cried out, leaping onto his lap and looking him straight in the eyes.

(You said that this is what both of us have been waiting for, and that can't be any truer than it already is. I've fought alongside you for so long now, and I know that this isn't the Satoshi I know right now. The Satoshi I know is brave! The friend I know didn't turn tail when things got tough for us, not in the Johto area, not in the Kanto area, or at anywhere else we had been to!) she continued on, the crowd above going wild at another spectacular feat outside the doors. (And I've stood by your side for seven years now, and though I admit to doubting our chances of victory and fearing our opponents in some battles, I never doubted that we would eventually make it here, and I never feared the outcome of this day!)

Satoshi breathed steadily as she grasped his hands, raising them to level with her paws. The anger that been in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a soft, mellow look. (Please, Satoshi. I never gave up on you, so don't give up on yourself. Promise me: you will have no doubt.)

"…I will have no doubt." He said, his brow creased and his heart bumping powerfully in his chest.

(You will have no fear!) She proclaimed, her eyes flashing white as the sound of footsteps above became apparent.

"I will have no fear!" He said, the confidence in his voice he had outside returning to him.

(And we shall not fall!)

"We shall not fall!" He yelled, leaning in with his shoulder as she jumped up and swung to hold onto the back of his head, rising as footsteps could be heard approaching the wooden doors near them.

The door swung open, and through it stepped the Knight from before, a behemoth in his dark blue samurai-style armor. His helmet again covered his head, and in his left hand his massive greatsword gleamed with the light of the torches on the walls. "Satoshi, it's your turn."

Satoshi nearly jumped from his seat, quickly getting to his feet with Lightforce clinging tightly to his shoulder. He nodded to the Knight. "Sir…tell the King to prepare to get blown away."

"I don't think I have to." The Knight replied, "He's already heard much about you and your opponent, and is expecting quite a spectacle here. Do not disappoint him, Satoshi, you or your partner. They're waiting for you outside. Go on."

Satoshi shifted his head to the side, his eyes on the face of his partner. He reached up and ran his hand through the fur on her head. "Ready for this?"

(I'm as ready as you are.)

…

The crowds rose up from their seats and begun their chorus of claps and shouts as Satoshi exited from an arched passage under some of the stadium's massive stone bleachers. The wind blew through the stands, rustling the navy blue canopies that shaded the people from the sun. Dark green grass bent down under Satoshi's foot as he proceeded forward, looking up towards the multitude of cheering spectators, young and old, male and female, human and Pokémon.

The soft hazel of Lightforce's eyes reflected against the great star in the sky, which floated high behind a balcony that shaded part of the stadium, connected to the magnificent castle that stood to the west of them. Another navy blue canopy perched above the balcony, lined with shining gold linen. Then, below it, four dark-blue clothed Knights – the Grand Knights, as they were known, watched as they walked into the field.

One wore armor like that of European knights, tall and lean with his dark forearms crossed in front of him, with twin daggers holstered at his sides and a dark brown cape. The iron visor of his full helmet was down over his eyes, completely obscuring his face from view. Another had her fiery orange hair extending out from the back of her helmet, cascading over the light plate armor and the bright blue cape she wore. The front of her helmet had dark glass covering her eyes, though her mouth was exposed to reveal the bottom of her light-toned face and smile.

Another was about the same height as the woman, dark blue samurai armor covering most of his body. Rectangular plating extended down the back of his circular helmet. All but his bright green eyes was covered by a silvery-gray cloth, the same color as his cape.

The last stood behind them, garbed in light metal armor that covered only her chest and shoulders. Lighter blue cloth trailed down the sides of her slender legs, over the long white pants she wore. Unlike the others, she had no helmet on, allowing all to see her elegant, nearly pale face. Straight dark green hair went down into her rope behind her, and her eyes were a grayish blue. A dark pink handkerchief hung around her neck.

Just behind the other three Knights and at the side of the last was a large, elegant marble throne with a crest shaped into a shield with a Pokéball with two crossed swords above it. On the throne itself, a seemingly empty suit of armor sat. The same crest on the throne was branded in shades of gray and blue on the armor's curved torso. Its silver greaves connected at a segment to both of its boots, with black pants underneath. A single belt with a Pokéball symbol held below the chest armor, which held in one piece while one of the curved pauldrons it wore sported fiery-colored feathers on it. Its beaklike faceplate hung over two angular pieces of armor whose edges bisected at the same place the 'beak' came to a point, though pressed against the helmet itself. At its shoulders a dark blue cape hung to the side, over the unfeathered pauldron, and black sleeves with silver arm braces led to white gloves on both of its hands…

…and atop the armor's helmet, a golden crown with several sparkling gems stood out just behind the helmet's faceplate. Satoshi and Lightforce bowed their head slightly as the enigmatic armor turned its helmet to look at them through its unseen eyes, nodding at them.

_Your majesty…_

The armor then turned its head the other way, this time nodding towards the young man who walked into the arena opposite Satoshi and Lightforce with his own partner. Spiky brown hair jutted forward on his head, with the spiking towards the back. He appeared to be just as eager as Satoshi, his dark, nearly black, eyes giving a confident and slightly cocky look at Satoshi.

Like Satoshi, he also wore a blue flak jacket-like vest, with greaves attached to his black pants at his shins. Opposed to Satoshi, he had a white shirt underneath his flak jacket. He also carried a hand and a half sword in its sheath at his side. His partner, a male Pikachu, rested atop his own shoulder, mirroring Satoshi with Lightforce. It had black spike indentations from the bottoms of the triangular black section of its ears, pointing down. A strangely blood-red color persisted in its eyes, looking determined and somewhat friendly all at the same time.

Satoshi smiled as he stopped at the same time as his opponent, standing merely ten or so feet from each other. The teen returned the smile, walking forward with his hand out. "Satoshi, I'm a little surprised to be able to fight you here. Oh well, Rift and I were anxious to get a good challenge."

Satoshi seized the other's hand and shook. "You're in for more than just a challenge, Shigeru." He looked towards Shigeru's Pikachu. "And how are you, Rift?"

(I feel…ready.) He said with a nod, averting his eyes towards Lightforce. (I hope you're ready too, Lightforce.)

(Of course I'm ready. I wouldn't want to leave a good friend like you disappointed after fighting me, after all.) She said, smiling at him. Like Satoshi and Shigeru had known each other for most of their open lives, Lightforce and Rift had become very close friends as well, after spending so much time together whenever Satoshi and Shigeru would cross paths, which was actually very often compared to other trainees.

The crowd began to grow silent. Noticing the decrease in volume, Satoshi and Shigeru both turned towards the balcony over the stadium, knowing what was happening: indeed, they along with their partners saw the King at the edge of the balcony with the Grand Knights flanking him, his gloved hand raised for silence.

The stadium was mute, each man woman or Pokémon staring up towards the balcony, waiting for their ruler to speak. The armor lowered its hand slightly, now positioning it in a more oratorical way. Satoshi felt Lightforce shiver slightly as the King's voice carried through the air, sounding like that of one who still had his youth but still with the authority of a great warrior:

"Men, women, Pokémon…as you well know, this shall be the final battle of the examination today. I would first like to extend my gratitude towards everyone, human or Pokémon, who stepped onto the field today to prove themselves, both to you and me. It is in their hands the future defense and well being of our great nation is placed. It is they who shall aid the people and uphold the balance between ourselves and nature for generations to come. So I say to you, let us honor these great warriors once more, those of the past, those of the present, and those of the future!"

Lightforce's black-tipped yellow ears twitched upon receiving the explosion of cheers from the coliseum's stands, stunning her for a moment before she beamed back at them, thankful for their support. Satoshi himself looked from side to side, reaching up to pat his Pikachu friend on the head. After a minute or so, the King raised his hand again, prompting the cheers to die out once more:

"And now, we have the four of you…" He began, looking directly at them, "…you are, as those who are already Knights have observed, the best students that are here today. I am assured that you four have gone through many a trial to be here today, to stand there at the center of the field in order to fulfill what you have dedicated so much of your life to up to now. The time for your wait is over now. The only obstacle you have left is your fellow student on that field."

Satoshi and Lightforce turned their heads towards Shigeru and Rift. Just as Satoshi exchanged a short but determined glare with Shigeru, Lightforce did the same with Rift, their eyes locking for but a few moments before they nodded in unison and turned back with their human partners to gaze back up towards the King.

"One of you may become a Knight. Both of you may, and at the same time neither of you might. Before you begin, we shall create the field around you, so that you may fight without restraint."

The female Knight with the pink neckerchief around her neck raised her hand up to the air, mouthing a few words before a bright, pink sphere shot up into the air over the field. Satoshi eyed the sphere expectantly before it burst outward over them, pouring down into a transparent dome that surrounded the battlefield. Shigeru felt a ripple in his body as he looked up to the King.

"That will prevent any true damage to be done to you, but you will certainly feel the pain as if you were harmed in normal circumstances. In this way, you will have no worry about harming your fellow student, and can instead fight with all your strength."

He pointed out towards them. In that moment, Satoshi and Shigeru turned and backed up from one another, their Pikachu jumping from their shoulders and standing at their side. Satoshi drew his sword from its sheath and pointed towards Shigeru with it, slashing an 'X' in the air before he brought it to his side. Lightforce got on all fours, static popping off her cheeks. Opposite her, Rift uttered a low growl as Shigeru lifted his sword in front of himself, grinning as he nodded towards Satoshi.

_This is it…_

"We will have no doubt, we will have no fear…" Satoshi said to Lightforce, smiling. She looked up at him and smiled back. (…and we shall not fall.)

The King's voice reverberated though their ears once more. "Satoshi, Shigeru! Lightforce, Rift! Stand strong alongside your partner, and show us all what you have learned on your journeys! Now…"

"Begin!"

…

…

…

I don't know about you, but I'm excited to begin on this story! Finally, we will see the origins of Lightforce, and how her own adventure played out many, many years before the time of Shadow and Light. I hope you're as interested in this as you are in my other stories!


	2. Chpt I: Friends' Duel

Chapter I: Friends' Duel

May 23, 528

Satoshi and Shigeru stood silently amidst the rumblings of the crowd. Ever so slightly their hair swayed with the breeze, still as death…

Lightforce and Rift both let out battle cries as their electricity slammed into each other, and grass ripped up from the ground where Satoshi and Shigeru had been standing. Sparks ripped up from their crossed blades, right in the center of where they had been standing apart.

Both of them grinded their teeth as their sword grinded together, their faces just an inch or so from the backs of their blades. Then, in an instant, they jumped away from one another, Satoshi's sword blazing with electricity as he swung it back. He roared as he swung it into the air in front of him, and with each rapid slash he made, an arc of electricity exploded out where the tip of the sword had been.

_Thunder Air Slash. Not bad to start up, Satoshi._

Shigeru braced his legs as the first wave cut through the air. Smirking, he dashed forward past the first slash, jumping high as the second came towards him and raised his hand over his head, palm rippling with black energy. "Dark Aura!"

Lightforce zipped in front of Satoshi and let electricity fly from her paws at Shigeru. At the same time, Satoshi spun around and raised his sword as Rift came down on him with an exceptionally powerful Iron Tail.

A wall of air smashed into Satoshi, rumbling past him and behind Rift while ripping grass and dirt from the field. Rebounding, Rift hopped over Satoshi and drove his electrified paws down upon his head.

(!)

Rift's ears stuck straight up, searching for any sign of Satoshi as he passed through his afterimage. Landing on his front paws, he spun with his left and caught the spheres of dark aura Shigeru had launched at Satoshi just the moment before, spinning the other way. Roaring, he thrust his right paw forward to launch the massive black ball at Lightforce.

Shigeru looked behind himself and grunted fiercely as he turned in midair and braced both of his hands against his sword before Satoshi smashed his into it from above…

(THUNDER!)

Lightforce raised her paws towards the clouds in the sky. Members of the crowd gasped in awe as the heavens above instantly darkened, several jagged arcs of electricity criss-crossing into the puffy masses before the one that all of the static was generating into split wide open and dropped a massive column of lightning onto where Rift stood...

Again, the King sat upon his throne at the balcony, his helmet tilting upwards as he watched the lightning crash down upon the battlefield. Amidst the wild cheering of the crowd, the armor turned his gaze towards the knight with her orange hair trailing out of the back of her helmet. "Kasumi, you are from the same village as Satoshi, correct?"

She watched him and Lightforce practically leapfrogging over each other, acrobatically unleashing powerful strikes at Shigeru and Rift with each flip of the paw or hand, and with each spin or slide. Lightforce managed to crash her tail into Rift's chest, but at the same time he had shot an Elecball at point-blank distance. Just as Satoshi slid to catch her, Shigeru did the same with Rift and stretched his sword out towards Satoshi.

"Kasumi?"

Kasumi flinched as the King's voice called her once more. She turned and bowed before straightening up. "Yes, though I would hardly call it a village, by liege."

"Ah, that's right. You both live right here in Kyoumei Hikari."

"Rift, let's go!" Shigeru yelled as he ran his left hand along the flat side of his blade, pointing it towards Satoshi and disappearing from where he stood.

Satoshi turned around and swung his blade into Shigeru's just as Lightforce blocked Rift's Iron tail with her own. Gravel and grass flew up with the shockwave, crushing together in between the two prospective Knights and the 'Chus.

Rift spun again and smirked as Lightforce flipped back to avoid, waving his hand. He jumped forward and froze in the air…

(Here it comes!) He yelled as Shigeru spun out of deflected strike and dashed forward to crash his balde into Satoshi's again, nodding to Rift as he jumped back and slid into a crouched position with one knee to the ground, the other holding his blade towards Satoshi and Lightforce. At the same time, Rift grabbed Shigeru's hand, black energy flowing into the blade along with Shigeru's.

"Well performed. Shigeru and Rift are pretty quick." The tall, dark-skinned Knight observed as the sword Shigeru held flashed from gray to black. Smiling, Shigeru lifted the sword into the air and roared, summoning a wave of dark energy that exploded from his body and covered him in a dark aura.

"Lightforce!" Satoshi yelled as she jumped onto his shoulder, gritting her teeth as the black waves hit them. Satoshi held his blade in front of him, attempting to black the searing, ground-shaking waves as Lightforce closed her eyes. As she opened them, they glowed a blinding white.

Like Shigeru, Satoshi pointed his own sword towards the sky, exploding into a bright electrical aura. The crowd practically held their breaths as the area outside the field began to shake as well.

"They're definitely putting out a lot energy." Said the Kasumi, feeling the armor covering her shoulder rattle a little, "They never failed to amaze, though."

"Storm Blade!" "Shadow Rave!"

The King lowered the eagle beaklike visor slightly, tilting his head forward as multiple flashes cut across the battle field, a black and a whitish-yellow streak colliding over and over again. "Amazing indeed."

The ground beneath Satoshi ripped with the force of his speed. Over and over again, he collided with Shigeru, eyes bright white as his rival's glowed a deep purple…

…

"_Hey Satoshi! So you got your partner?"_

"_Yeah…woah, you got a Pichu too?_ _How is that going to help what you're going to try to master?"_

"_Heh. I'm going to make it work, Satoshi. He and I, we're going to both master the dark element. Sure, it's not his type, but we've all got a bit of darkness in us, and a journey like this should get it out of us both!"_

"…_Now that I think about it, that sounds pretty interesting."_

"_Of course it is! After all, once we learn how to use that we'll be tearing though anyone we face. That includes YOU, Satoshi!"_

"_Oh, I'm not losing to you!"_

"_Say all you want, but from this point on, we're always going to be at least one step ahead of you, Satoshi."_

"_Hmph. We'll see about that, Shigeru!"_

…

Both Pikachu held on tightly as Satoshi and Shigeru slammed into each other once more, creating an electrical, blackish explosion that further bared the battlefield. The swords stayed jammed against each other as they struggled, grinding the steel together with such force and power that the ground cracked beneath them. Dark energy burst from Shigeru and Rift, while Whitish-Electrical currents radiated out from Satoshi and Lightforce.

"Just…like…I…said!" Shigeru yelled, the muscles in his body screaming, "I'll make sure…that I'm always…one step ahead of you!"

"Not…this time!" Satoshi roared back, growling as he poured more electricity into his vibrating sword.

"!" The green-haired Knight squinted his eyes, noticing strikes of static crawling along the invisible field that had been erected around the combatants. "Their power is incredible, for trainees anyway."

"I'd say their power is incredible, period." The dark skinned Knight said.

The sound of scraping metal and the roar of electricity ravaged their ears. The pricks of pain running along their bodies from the other's energy didn't help much either, feeling similar to if someone had pressed hundreds of sewing needles into their bodies…

BOOM!

"Augh!" They all cried out as the energies reached a volatile point and imploded around them in a blackish-yellow sphere before snapping the sound barrier with a massive explosion that rapidly ran across the battlefield and slammed into the translucent energy field that bordered them. Up in the balcony, the Knight with the pink neckerchief groaned as she strained herself to keep the barrier up. The green-eyed Knight turned towards her with concerned eyes, the other two following in suit. "Can you hold it?"

"Just…barely!" She yelled over the roars of the earth-rending fireball that completely filled the barrier. Below them in the crowd, spectators of all ages held their breaths as the invisible wall expanded for just a few more moments.

Suddenly, the wall contracted as the energy dimmed out into nothing, leaving behind as massive clouds of smoke that billowed out from the top of the barrier. The air was absolutely silent, save for the small crackling of the fires that were visible within the dome. Up in the balcony, Kasumi focused on any sign of movement she could see on the battlefield, searching for Satoshi and his partner.

(Nngh…Satoshi…are you okay?)

"Fuck…yeah, I'm fine…look out, he might make a move before we do…"

The smoke thinned out, allowing the people to see the carnage that had been done to the arena. Earth in the battlefield had been churned over and pitted like a giant had taken a jackhammer to it. In the balcony, every Knight shifted to peer in through the barrier to look for the foru combatants…

"There." The King spoke, pointing a metallic finger towards where Satoshi was pushing himself onto his feet and picking his sword up from the ground. The fabric outer covering of his vest was splotched with black where the blue had been charred, and rips cut across most of his clothing, from the tattered edges of his pants to the thick turtleneck collar of his vest. Lightforce stood close by him and nodded as he looked down at her and then across the battlefield.

"And there is Shigeru." The King continued, waving his arm towards the other side as Shigeru planted the tip of his sword into the dust and grunted as he lifted himself up with Rift still gripping tightly onto his shoulder.

The tip of his blade scratched the earth as it was lifted up. Shigeru breathed steadily but heavily, akin with Satoshi. Likewise, Rift let out small squeaks with his own breaths, just like Lightforce.

The crowd began to cheer even more ecstatically than before, awed and amazed at the spectacle happening before their eyes. A small gasp exited Satoshi's mouth as he looked up towards them, turning his head to catch the views of everyone who was up on their feet, cheering on both himself and Shigeru, along with their companions. The telltale signs of a blush appeared on his face as he spotted all of the Grand Knights, from the dark skinned tall man to the woman with the pink neckerchief clapping for them. Over the sounds of the crowd, he could even hear the sound of Kasumi's voice cheering him on from the balcony, accompanied by the sight of her cupping her hands around her mouth to try to get him to hear her clearly. On the opposite side of the arena, he could see Shigeru and Rift also marveling at the response they were getting.

Air caught in Satoshi's mouth, seeing the magnificently-armored King looking down at them and clapping for them both as well.

"Satoshi! Lightforce!"

Satoshi turned his head to see Shigeru and Rift looking directly at himself and Lightforce, both giving a smile despite their efforts to bring the air back into their lungs. Shigeru reached up to his face and wiped it with his gloved hand, taking off a layer of dust that had deposited itself upon his visage.

"…Satoshi…" Shigeru said, lifting up his arms to his sides, "…I knew you wouldn't disappoint me! You and Lightforce are a pretty hard team to beat!"

Satoshi smiled back and shrugged. "Same goes for you and Rift, Shigeru! Just don't fall behind later on!"

Below him, Lightforce had her eyes half-closed, smiling as Rift's red eyes caught the hazel of hers. (Rift!)

(Lightforce…you've always had a knack for giving me a hard time, even when we were Pichu!) He yelled back beyond the cheering crowd, (And…I really thank you for that!)

He walked forward through the dust that still floated low to the ground, static charging across his cheeks. (Without that, I wouldn't have gotten the drive to beat you here!) Across from him, Lightforce narrowed her eyes and began to walk towards Rift as well. (Beat me? Rift, you must still be dizzy from the last collision. Just because you're my friend doesn't mean I won't leave you beaten!)

He gritted his teeth under his smile, getting on all fours across from her. (Is that so?)

She got on all fours as well, her lightning bolt tail stiff. (Would you care to try to prove me wrong?)

"…Shigeru…how about we let these two go at it for a little while?" Satoshi called to his friend, "I want to see how fast she can beat Rift!"

"Satoshi, you're going to be disappointed when she gets beaten to a pulp, then!" Shigeru responded as the two 'Chus began to walk in a circle at the center of the battlefield.

…

"Hmph. This will certainly be interesting, my liege."

The King turned his head to see a bald, blue-armored Knight walk through the passageway with his wide Greatsword hanging down against his hakama. One muscular arm held his helmet to his waist while the other hand touched the hilt of his blade just slightly. Even though he had known him for a quite a while, the King was still amazed at the height of this man. "Sir Kovnorath, you've decided to join us, I see. Have you seen much of the fight so far?"

"My apologies for my delayed arrival, my King. I simply wanted to retrieve my partner to watch this as well. He was interested and so I have brought him along." He responded with a bow, a warm smile upon his face.

The King turned to face him, royal cape swinging around with him. Immediately, he could see a lean, bipedal Pokémon at Kovnorath's side, with blue 'shorts' and a black ring on the top of them like a belt that narrowed up into a cream-colored, furry abdomen with a spike protruding from its chest. The black bars that ran across and up the center of its jackal-like blue face made it look like some form of bandit. Its blue arms widened into paws at the very end that both had spike protruding from the back of its palms. Two pointy blue ears stuck straight up on its head like a dog's, while six black appendages hung from the sides of its head, three on the left and three on the right. A thick blue tail was diagonal upwards from its back.

"Ah yes, your Lucario…" The King said, his helmet turning down to face the Pokémon. The Lucario closed its eyes and bowed its head, a black paw over its chest, just above its spike. "_My King._"

"…Marxus, was it?"

…

The crowd continued to cheer them on as they circled at the center of the battlefield. (Hear that, Lightforce? That's for us…are you going to show me what you can do or not? I mean…)

He stopped, sparks rippling from his cheeks as he stood up, his smile turning into a more serious look. (…I want to see what my future mate can do.)

Lightforce smiled at the comment. (True, you've proven yourself to be both confident and honest, Rift, and I really do like that about you. Not only that…but you're strong as well as well-mannered. However, you shouldn't be lying to everyone but yourself: I won't just LET you win.)

(Then…) He said, raising his paw over his head, (…let's see about that!)

Waves of black imploded around his paw for a brief moment before he swung his arm forward and let the concentrated energies rocket towards her.

_Diversion…_

Lightforce jumped out of the way of the colossal burst of darkness, putting her arms up in front of herself and turning as Rift's paw tore the air in front of her with a Thunderpunch. The force alone made her cringe a little, impressed that his own electricity was numbing her arm like it was disrupting the flow of the electricity that was so plentiful within her. As she stepped back to counter, she realized just how still he stood, in the same position as when his fist had been blocked by her arm…

_A shade!_

(Thunder Shield!) She yelled and stretched her arms out as a transparent, buzzing yellow dome surrounded her. Only an instant later, she cringed slightly as he burst from out of nowhere in front of her and slammed his paw into the barrier with a cone-like mass of dark energy that drilled slightly before it dissipated and he swung backward from the recoil.

_Now!_

She quickly swung her arms across her chest and with it reabsorbed the electricity around herself in a much smaller, concentrated form. Throwing her arms out and taking a step forward, she yelled, (Shockwave!)

Rift clenched his teeth, letting out a short groan as he felt the wave smack the front of his body like a whip. With a short stumble, he found her as a yellow blur surging at him, just a few feet to his right.

_Shade Strike!_

(!) Lightforce went wide eyed as her paw went through his face and out the other side of his head with a wisp of what appeared to be black smoke. The crowd above shouted in awe at the sight as she twisted onto her hind legs and crossed her arms above her as a shadowy figure suddenly materialized above.

(Gotcha!) Rift yelled as his paws, brimming with black electricity, crashed into Lightforce's arms and, with his superior strength, burst through her guard and laid a direct hit on top of her furry yellow head. Forced to the ground with the throbbing pain in her skull, Lightforce rolled back onto the back of her head and kicked up with her kind legs, managing a smirk as she felt her legs make contact with his back.

(Argh!) He cried out, feeling a small pop in his backbone as he was thrown forward with his head upside-down. Recovering his senses, he caught himself on his front paws and flipped onto his hind legs, just as Lightforce did when she rolled backwards over her head and landed on all fours.

Arms crossed, Shigeru continued to watch the battle for a moment before looking up towards Satoshi. He smiled as Satoshi looked up from his own partner and did the same.

_She's not bad. She's not bad at all, Satoshi. Rift really has to be on his toes here. _

_Keep going, Lightforce. Shigeru has trained Rift too well for you to even waste an instant. _

Lightforce staunchly ignored the feeling in her head that was slowly melting away, bracing her hind legs behind her as Rift bent back, popping his back after the hit she gave him. Narrowing her eyes, she breathed out and focused.

(Here I come!) She yelled as the ground she stood on left her feet, the inertia making her feel almost weightless. As sudden as she had been standing over there, she was almost breathing down Rift's neck when he reacted and quickly swung an Iron Tail at her. The square blade of his tail just barely nipped the end of her own, though he grunted and slid forward with one paw out towards her, again dimming at the center.

She jumped back from the blackish missiles that hurtled toward her and raised her arms to the sky. (THUNDERSTORM!) As she yelled this, Rift quickly rolled to his feet and prepared to run, FAST.

_If that's how you want to play, then fine. I'll return the favor soon enough, Lightforce. _

The King looked above the dome to see the clouds suddenly take on a fearsomely dark gray color, the air rumbling with short booms. Beside him, Kovnorath smiled as a trio of thunderbolts struck through the barrier that surrounded the battlefield. "Magnificent, aren't they, my King."

"Agreed."

Satoshi lifted an arm in front of himself, feeling the hair on his arms and legs standing on end from the sheer volume of static electricity charging through the air along with the powerful crooked columns of lightning that ripped up the battlefield even more than it was already. Here and there, where he saw Rift running in erratic fashion, a flash exploded out from the clouds and punched the ground. With every successive strike, he could see Lightforce's lightning drawing closer and closer to its target, slamming into the ground near him and buffeting him with tiny pieces of gravel. Above, he could spy most of the people covering their ears from the tremendous sounds of the lightning, like Raikou itself was on a rampage.

The clouds were giving her an ample amount of electricity to use, though she could tell it was running out. Around her the earth had flattened into a disk with her in the center, blackened and charred. She could see Rift continue to run, sweat sliding down his face as the onslaught of raw electrical power bombarded the ground around him. If she could just get one hit…

The clouds above rumbled much softer now. At most, she could only manage about five strikes at him before she had to stop, lest she begin using her own electrical supplies. If she wanted to get at least one hit…she had to let what was left crash down.

(HAAA!) She yelled as she raised her eyes to the air, calling upon all the electricity the storm could muster for her. Looking back down at Rift, his eyes showing at least a very subtle amount of fear, she roared again as she threw her paws down at him, like she was tossing something very heavy at him.

Rift looked up to the sky and nearly froze in his tracks; was Zapdos helping her from the side? The blast that came down at him, streaking towards him…it was enormous, glowing with nearly godlike power. He ran, and ran, but even with this, he found that the torrent of electricity was still seeking him…

"Rift!" Shigeru yelled, his mouth agape as waves of air hit him from the shockwave. It was as if that final, massive strike had actually exploded within his ears. Above them the barrier fluctuated slightly once more, like when he and Satoshi had collided. The crowd overall just looked awestruck, many of them shielding their eyes from the explosion.

"Mmph…Amazing…" The King said softly, his head tilted once more to shield his unseen eyes from the light. He could feel the concrete under him shake, and in the distance eh could see many in the arena who were watching fall over.

Eventually the smoke that once again covered them began to clear, and Satoshi looked towards where his Pikachu, still sparkling with leftover static, stood. She turned her head towards him, regaining her air from the effort that controlling so much electricity. She whispered to him, just barely audible over the murmurs of the crowd, but he could still understand what she was saying: (Did I do well?)

"Yes. That was incredible." He mouthed back with a smile, turning his sight to where the Pikachu now lay on the ground, electricity swarming his body like ants on their prey. His breaths appeared to come short, his eyes closed tightly by what Satoshi assumed was unbearable pain. He shuddered a little at the thought, so very thankful that the field that was around them protected them from any true harm.

"Well, Shigeru…" Satoshi called out, looking deep into the eyes of his rival. "It's just you now."

_No…_

_No it's not…_

Shigeru gazed to his fallen partner, ready to bolt straight to him before he saw Rift twitch, raising up his paw. With a low chatter to himself, Rift brought his other paw underneath himself and rose to his hind legs, taking a few steps back haphazardly as he stared at Lightforce. The look in his eyes unnerved and frightened her; the red in his sclera seemed to flash for a moment. Heavy breaths escaped his maw, both of his arms drooping in front of him.

(…Rift, you're in no condition to fight anymore.) Lightforce said earnestly, a frown forming on her lips while her eyes drooped. (…I don't want to have to hurt you anymore than I have already.)

He breathed heavy still, his face to the ground before he seemed to calm down. Fighting the immense, torturous pain all over, he forced his arms in front of himself, facing her as his eyes rose with the rest of his head. Dark energy suddenly sprang from his paws, focusing within a sphere in-between them.

(Rift!) She called out with a warning tone, lowering onto all fours once more. Rift stared at her for a few more moments before he looked back towards his partner with a questioning look. Understanding the unknown message, Shigeru nodded to him. He turned back towards Ligthforce and sighed.

(You've…had your fun, Lightforce…)

She saw the energy slowly drift out into the air around his paws, like an aura that slowly ran down his arms. The sphere in his paws pulsated, awaiting its controller to will its direction. Rift's ears went straight out to the sides of him. (I believe…it's time to show you…the technique I've learned…SHADOW RUSH!)

He pushed his muscles and leapt into the air a very short distance, slamming his paws together with the sphere between them. As he closed his eyes, the dark sphere suddenly let out wide, flat tendrils that rushed over him at an equal distance from the center of his body until he was completely obscured from sight by what appeared to be a glossy, black sphere.

Lightforce noticed the sphere pulsate near the top. Suddenly, a jet-black replica of Rift spawned from the top of the sphere and rocketed towards her with a trail of dark aura behind it. As soon as that one had reached about halfway between the sphere and her, another one blasted out from the top of the sphere and flew towards her.

The first one flew over her and struck downward with its paws. She rolled to avoid, feeling a slight pulse against her arms form the tiny wave of black energy it produced from hitting the ground. Again, she looked behind as the other shot in, this one sliding on the ground and quickly striking at her with its tail. As she jumped away, another came out from where it had and spun at her with a black version of what appeared to be Rift's Lightning Blade.

She cried out as another copy burst in from behind her and successfully smashed its paw into her side, exploding violently as it made contact with her. Black aura burned against her fur as she was thrown through the air, tumbling in just the right angle to see another two shadowy replicas fly at her from the sphere.

As soon as her paws hit the ground she took off again, narrowly avoiding another downward strike that exploded against the ground from one of them. The other slid to the right of her and brought its arm back before diving at her.

She jumped and let it explode under her, her chest rippling with pain from the smack of dark energy that nearly took away her breath. Just barely able to spy the sphere as she dodged, she saw that this time, FOUR of those shades of Rift came flying at her.

_Not nearly as flamboyant as my attack, but far more precise. _

These four were right on top of her by the time she recovered from dodging the last strike. To her surprise, one of them suddenly peeled off from directly in front of her and shot to a small distance away. While another struck at her, it too peeled off from her. The final two separated from each other and came at her from opposite sides at lightning speed, apart from each other at a distance where only their shadowy replicas of the Lightning Blade attack would cross over each other.

Lightforce nearly slipped as she leapt to avoid, noticing the other two replicas from before were still there, still as stone. At the same time, the bubble holding Rift burst open. Like out of nowhere, Rift tore the ground with the immense speed at which he came at her, eyes glowing a bright but faint red while both of his front paws held a black Lightning Blade.

He was almost completely drained from enduring her attack before, and he couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Seizing the short time at which she was vulnerable from dodging the scissor-like slash of his final two replicas, Rift exploded out from his protective sphere of dark energy, infusing it into his Lightning Blades for the mere instant at which she could not dodge. Still in mid-roll, he saw her eyes go wide as he cross his two blades over each other and ripped them outward when she was right in front of him, feeling the resistance her body gave as his blades exploded against her form, throwing her back into the square formed by the last four replicas.

(Augh!)

The sheer force of his attack knocked the wind out of her and made it feel like he really had just cut her in half. In real circumstances it likely would've, and only the field they were in protected her from that. Even as she was thrown back, she was able to see that his last four shades had stayed behind, forming a square that she fell right into…

_NO!_

(GRAND CROSS!)

It was all he had left before he felt he was going to fall over. With only adrenaline fueling him, he launched into the air amidst the gasps of the crowd and the shouts of the two humans on either side of the battlefield, a jet-black energy blade extending out from his paws over his head while the same occurred with his replicas below him.

With what slim amount of milliseconds she had, Lightforce could only brace herself as Rift's four shades instantaneously zoomed across to the other sides of the square they had formed while leaving a bright, white 'X' where they had all slashed her as Rift came down…

…

_(…I guess this is the last time we're going to see each other for a while, Rift.)_

_(Yeah…it just isn't fair. I almost wish we hadn't been taken out from the forest.)_

_(Huh? Why? We wouldn't be able to have the chance to have the adventures we're going to have with our new partners!)_

_(But…it also means what you had said; we're not going to see each other for a while. I've heard that…well, Knight in training don't come back to the place they came from for a very long time. I just can't stand the thought of that! You're my best friend, and…)_

_(…I know it's hard, Rift…I know. It feels the same for me too. But isn't this why we left in the first place? We wanted to go out and see the world, we wanted to be as strong as we could be, and our parents encouraged us to go! Even if we are apart, we'll never leave each other's minds.)_

_(I guess you're right about that…Okay then. Before we have to leave, I just want you to promise me something, Lightforce.)_

_(What?)_

_(…Don't forget about me. Even through all the trials and the adventures that await us, I want you to keep me as close to your heart as much as I keep you close to mine. Promise?)_

_(Promise. Just come back whenever we can see one another again, okay?)_

_(Lightforce, don't worry about that. I'll always be back.)_

…

The center of the battlefield lit up brilliantly as diagonal lines of dark energy ripped to the edges of the battlefield, forming a very large 'X' from overhead. Again, loud cheering issued out from the crowds, and in the balcony the dark-skinned Knight smiled. "They really like to cause explosions, don't they?"

"Most of the time, when your attacks are causing explosions, they're just proof that you're powerful, and I'd say all of them are pretty powerful." Kasumi spoke sweetly, crossing her arms. Behind them, Kovnorath kept his eyes downcast towards the center of the blast. "That was all he had left in him."

"And all she had left to endure." The King said, and far below them the two 'Chus were now both face down in the dust, Lightforce weakly reaching forward to try to pull herself to her feet, but to no avail as her paw laid peacefully on the ground. Across from her, Rift twitched as the static from earlier still ran across him in subtle shorts.

"Lightforce!" "Rift!" Satoshi and Shigeru called out respectively, both sprinting over to their companions. Sliding to a stop in the dust, Satoshi lifted his hand over himself, glowing with electricity that spread into a protective dome around them. With his other hand, he gently slid his arm underneath Lightforce and picked her up, hugging her with her back to his chest and her feet on his knee. She made almost no response, save for a weak redirection of her eyes toward his face and a whisper: (Sa…to…shi…I'm…I'm…sorry…)

"You were fearless, and you didn't doubt yourself once as far as I could see…that's what we had said before right? Don't be sorry…you did amazingly, Lightforce."

_...Move…move…_

…_damn it!_

"Rift, don't push yourself, you've already done enough as far as I can see." Shigeru spoke reassuringly to his partner, who cringed through the sparks of pain spiking all over his body when he tried to move. "It's okay…Lightforce is down too. You've done well."

(Rrrrg…alright…) Rift said, breathing out and laying his furry chin down in the dust, still watching Lightforce as Satoshi held her in his arm. He felt Shigeru pick him up by his sides and hold him to his chest with one arm, using the other for his sword. "Our turn, Satoshi!"

"Hmm…" the King hummed, a gloved hand going to the tip of his helmet's angular chin piece. "Harmone."

The plating of the green-haired Knight's armor creaked slightly as he turned to face his King, the silvery cloth over his mouth moving along with his jaw. "Yes, your Majesty?"

"Go and tell them to halt their fighting. Their partners need not experience more pain in the heat of a battle between them."

"As you wish, my King."

Drawing his own blade, Satoshi crossed it in front of himself in a defensive stance, standing in front of his downed partner, much like what Shigeru was. Instead, Shigeru had assumed a more offensive stance, with his blade out to his side, its leather handle gripped by both of his hands. Cautiously, Shigeru began to walk forward toward Satoshi, slowly but carefully as Satoshi did the same, still holding his own sword sideways.

"Your move, Shigeru." "Of course."

Shigeru braced his legs, dark aura forming up his razor-sharp sword. The moment he was going to lunge, he saw a shadow cross the ground between them.

"Huh?" Satoshi whispered, stopping as the green-haired Knight shot down from the air and landed with one knee down, standing up and raising his hands out towards both of them. "Stand down, by order of the King."

Lowering his sword somewhat slowly, Shigeru turned his view up to the balcony, where the King had stood up and was looking down upon them, the crowd calming as he raised his palm…

…

…

…

…

And there's the second chapter. Sound off your opinions!


	3. Chpt II: Rivalry for the Ages

"_The greatest advances are birthed from competition"_

Chapter II: Rivalry for the Ages

May 23, 528

Though it happened rather quickly, the time it took for the King to rise from his throne on the balcony felt like forever for Satoshi. It was just so sudden, so unexpected for him to stop the battle when he and Shigeru were still on their feet. Despite telling himself that he likely just wanted to check on Lightforce and Rift, he still felt uneasy.

"Satoshi, Shigeru…I see that both of your partners are down."

"…Yes, sire." Satoshi managed to say despite the chills running down his body. Below that armored face, that enigmatic man above him was likely either concerned or somewhat angered; Satoshi could not tell. After all, the only voice he had known the King to have was this same voice that only showed an even, understanding tone and another that had been heard earlier, powerful and encouraging, as was in his regal position.

"Satoshi, Shigeru, we have yet to see what you both can truly do. However, I can assume that you have no want for your partners to be caught in the middle of your own battle. Thus…you shall leave them with Harmone while you two do your battle."

_What?_

Satoshi hesitated for an instant, looking back to his friend on the ground. Despite the authenticity of the King's concerns of her condition to be a part of this battle now, he didn't like the idea of having to give her up to them, even for a brief time.

He gulped and kneeled towards her, scooping her limp body and shifting his arms carefully as if he was holding his own child. Despite the pain he could see on her face, he could still see the shine in her eyes, a warmth that told him everything he needed to know.

(…Satoshi…do…it.) She whispered reassuringly, a chime in her voice that was enhanced by the bright smile she gave him. (I'll be…fine. Just…just don't worry about me. Remember, I'll…I'll feel fine once I'm…outside the barrier, so…just win, okay?)

"…Okay." Satoshi replied, running his hand though the soft fur on her head as he turned and stood, facing the green-haired Knight. Small wisps of dust crossed his face from the now barren battlefield as he approached Harmone, who extended his gloved hand out towards Lightforce.

"…You have taught her well, Satoshi." Harmone spoke, his voice as melodic as his name implied. With a shimmer of the silvery cape he wore in the wind, he carefully took Lightforce from Satoshi's hands and hugged her close to his side. In his other hand, he received Rift from Shigeru, looking closely at the Pikachu before looking up towards his partner. "He is a resilient one, I see." Looking over to Satoshi, he nodded. "Good luck unto both of you."

Rift shuddered slightly as waves of air kissed his face in front of him with the mighty jump Harmone made into the crowd. As soon as he felt his form pass through the barrier surrounding the battlefield, he gasped. Somehow, as he had passed through that shield, all of the fatigue and paralysis he had felt in his limbs seemed to be ripped away, and he felt just like how he did before they had begun fighting. With what little room he had to move, he looked over towards Lightforce as Harmone made another bound.

(Not bad, Lightforce.)

That moment, he saw the edge of decorated stone, and the shade fell upon him to ease the heat somewhat. The large, dark-skinned Knight looked to him and then to Lightforce as Harmone kneeled and gently placed them on the ground.

The female Pikachu looked up in sequence from the Knight's iron plated leather boots all the way to the golden amber eyes, for the most part hidden beneath his eyelids. The steel visor of his helmet cast a shadow that made the color just barely visible. The muscle hidden beneath his wide shoulderplates fused into an equally muscled neck.

She smiled as she recognized the titan under the armor. (Takeshi? Is that you?)

A smile formed under his eyes, kneeling down and patting her on her head. "I see you haven't forgotten me, Lightforce."

(Of course not!) She squeaked happily. At that moment, she noticed movement behind her. Turning, she witnessed the King stand from his throne once more, walking to the edge of the balcony and raising his arm parallel to his chest.

"…Satoshi, Shigeru, your partners have shown us what they are capable of…now, I am sure that the people along with myself the Knights in attendance would like to see what you yourselves can do."

"I'd say that means it's time for you to surrender, Satoshi."

"I wouldn't surrender even if you managed to chop off my arms and legs, Shigeru."

As if on instinct, both of them braced their legs at the end of his sentence, taking a brief moment to exchange focused glares before they disappeared from their spot with spurts of dirt behind where they were.

Space distorted around them with the force of their blows against the other's sword. What one saw in the other's eyes was the same as what his opponent saw in theirs: unrelenting determination, an furious drive to defeat the other. Their swords moved once more…

Sparks ripped of the metal of the blades, a shower of hot steel that was cut through and swept into with the collision and smashing of the two swords together in a continuing succession, like the sound of the last blow did not escape them before the next blow was made.

Satoshi let a grin crack across his face; his rival certainly did not want to disappoint him today. His hands vibrated each and every second with the crossing of his blade with Shigeru's. As his rival grabbed a hold of his arm, Satoshi dropped and kicked Shigeru's legs out from under him.

Shigeru Released Satoshi's arm and fell forward, twisting over his rival and leaping a great distance away from him. Moments later, his hand twisted as dark energy flowed through it.

"Dark Cannon!"

The back of Satoshi's thick vest scraped against the dust as he slid around onto his feet, brow creasing as he leapt away from where a barrage of dark missiles exploded. Continuing to jump and run, he dashed in a zig-zag as more of the globs of dark aura exploded around him, coming ever closer to his attacker, who continued to fire shots from his left hand as he raised his sword with the other.

Satoshi's hair bent back from a sudden burst he made, a straight line towards his rival with his grip of the blade held tightly between his hands.

_CRACK!_

Lightning crashed down through the barrier that separated the battlefield from the those watching, dispersing in long tendrils across the transparent bubble while the main bulk of it pierced straight through.

"Augh!" Shigeru cried out as he felt the recoil of Satoshi's blade smashing against his own, followed instantly by the lightning that smashed down upon him. Swinging around, Satoshi spun his blade in his hand to where he was swinging backhanded now, laying his arm across the flat side of his blade as he rammed it into Shigeru's arm while he was still recovering.

Simultaneously, Satoshi went wide-eyed as the breath was pushed out of his lungs by a forceful knee to his chest. As Shigeru landed and rolled back onto his feet cradling his arm with noticeable twinges of pain shaking him, Satoshi fell and rolled back onto his knees, clutching at is chest, gasping for breath. He looked to his sword in his hand, the sleek metal's tip digging into the dirt in front of him. Chills ran through his body, accompanied by burning spikes of heat from a purplish aura flowing up and away from where his rival's knee had made contact.

_...Good counter, Shigeru._

Satoshi let a few calm breaths echo from his mouth before he leaned forward on his hands, then stood almost upside-down for the instant that he bounded off his palms and back onto his feet, swinging his sword up to point at Shigeru. Rising up, Shigeru, still held his arm in his grasp, biting his bottom lip as he carefully reached down and retrieved his weapon from the dust below him…

"Too slow, Satoshi."

Satoshi's sword passed right through Shigeru as he had his head down, taking with it a shadowy wisp of smoke that took away part of his rival's neck. Twisting around with the inertia of the metal, Satoshi grunted as Shigeru teleported out of nowhere from behind and slammed his sword down into his. The gravel under Satoshi's feet rumbled as he slid back from the blow, electricity sparking up from his hand and flowing into the metal. After a second, his blade buzzed and sparked, glowing a bright, bluish-yellow.

_Here we go!_

Dust flew out from behind Satoshi like the smoke plume from a rocket. "Lightning Blade Storm!"

Up in the stands, the crowd cheered in wild hysterics as Satoshi spun his sword in his hand while he flew forward, electricity trailing off from it and rippling the air. His sword smashed into his friend's before recoiling in a circle before striking once more, flashes of thunder exploding from the weapon. Shigeru ground his teeth together as he felt the electricity zap through his veins. Even as he dodged the next flurry of slashes that Satoshi sent his way, he found himself zapped again and again by the shockwaves tearing through the air and from the ground. Satoshi was bursting with electricity, errant trails of it continually coursing through him like.

Satoshi rushed Shigeru with a laugh, eyes aglow with static. His black hair whipped around with his body, lagging behind with his twists and dashes he made to strike out at his rival. The edges of his blue pad armor were beginning to blacken from the immense voltage.

Shigeru backflipped away, but as he landed on his feet with his arm still at the ground, he gasped, seeing that Satoshi had somehow closed the distance rather quickly; his blade, exploding with the power of lightning, was just a foot or so from his torso.

For a moment, he went deaf; there was only feeling. Even though it had just been the flat side of the blade, Shigeru could not only feel the blunt force of the sword smashing into his chest and the sudden, burning paralysis across him, he could feel a thin, sharp pain cut its way across his chest.

Sound came back as a screeching roar, first the crackling, then the sound of his own pained yell: "AUGH!"

Shigeru gripped his own sword tightly, quickly whispering something under his breath as he felt himself thrown backwards…

"!"

Satoshi saw Shigeru…freeze. After the mighty, final hit he had connected on his rival, he was supremely surprised to see Shigeru get thrown back before his body suddenly stopped in midair, electricity dispersing off him and into the ground like he wasn't even there. His own static died down to nothing, a soreness filling him after such an arduous attack. He had to ignore it though, for he had a much more pressing matter on hand.

Satoshi spun in place and raised his sword as Shigeru materialized out from behind him, the afterimage he had left disappearing as he roared, dark energy rippling through his body. He brutally smashed his sword down onto Satoshi, just as the latter cut forward and met the resistance of Shigeru's body. The crowd cheered once more as Satoshi was thrown off his feet and onto the ground, his frustrated grunt audible as he rolled back, tucking his sword across his chest as he kicked up into a standing position once more. This time, Satoshi stuck out his hand to his side, lighting adorning it while Shigeru clutched as the long, narrow wound that cut through his padding and into his flesh.

"Looks like he managed to pull off a pretty good counter there…ouch, that wound must hurt a lot though." Takeshi spoke while Lightforce hung on the railing, sticking her head over the cement to look down towards the combat while Rift stood on top of the railing next to her. Rift chewed at his bottom lip, eyeing the scar in his partner's chest that began to redden the fabric of his pad armor. He gulped and turned his view down to his fellow Pikachu. (They said the barrier won't let them actually get hurt, right?)

(Yes, I'm sure his majesty wouldn't want them to actually get harmed.) Lightforce responded with an assuring tone. _"Agreed. What would be the use of that, after all?"_

Lightforce's ears perked up as she looked to her sides with some slight confusion. Where had that last voice come from? Not only was it unfamiliar to her, but it seemed to have come from right on top of her, like she had heard it in her mind. _"Behind you." _

She looked over her shoulder and noticed the Lucario that had walked onto the balcony with Master Kovnorath leaning against the far side of the concrete rail away from the rest of them, staring back at her with the same piercing eyes that the rest of his species had. Even when they did not intend to seem threatening, as showing from the smile he gave that seemed to show no hostility, the eyes of a Lucario always kept anyone, whether they be human or Pokémon, on guard. Of course, as far as what Lightforce had heard, they were often quite trustworthy.

"_If you consider this breaking into personal space, I'll stop."_

Lightforce turned back to the concrete rail, confused. _How is he doing that?_

"_Telepathy. I am the partner of one of the Grand Knights, after all."_

Lightforce sighed. _I see…your name is Marxus, right? _

Marxus crossed his arms, now looking onto the battle that continued to awe the crowds below. _"It always has been and always shall be. You are Lightforce?"_

_Yes. "Good to meet you."_

…

Even by the time the sun had dove into the depths of the night to the east, the battle had yet to be won by either of the young warriors below. Shallow cuts and scrapes bore into the pad armor upon both of their chests. In places, like the deeper cut into Shigeru's torso, the cloth became stained by dried crimson. Fatigue had begun to slow them both down as well; Satoshi pulled back as his rival did, breathing in calmly, albeit deeply with exhaustion. A long, slender cut left a jagged stinging in his left bicep, somewhat swollen under his sleeve. Upon his right leg, the greave he wore had been split from the top, with a noticeably dark red section of his skin under a charred hole in his pants.

Opposite him, Shigeru cursed under his breath as he clutched at the wound torn into his chest. With the static from their last clashing of blades zapping through his nerves, the wound felt like it had been torn open once more. The various scuffs that scraped up his clothes and exposed skin were no help either, patches of red staining fabric on his body.

"*huff*…*huff*…"

"*huff*…*huff*…"

_Damn it…he's roughed up, but I'm just as bad…_

_This is getting nowhere…_

…_Don't give up, Lightforce- -Rift wouldn't give up._

Glares exchanged between the two of them, both covered in dust, sweat and blood. In both of their hands, their blades trembled unnoticeably. Fatigue was weighing down on them like one thousand sold concrete bricks. For both it felt like their muscles were beginning to rebel against the will of the mind, screaming out and protesting with throbbing pain.

Over all, adrenaline muted their sounds with determination.

"…"

"…"

"!"

The crowd gasped, then broke into cheers once more when the two young warriors suddenly shot across the battlefield to each other, both locking their swords for perhaps the thousandth time in their heads, one hand to the grip of the sword and the other behind their backs…

"HA!"

They yelled simultaneously, eyes wild as their hands swung out from behind their backs.

Dark energy and bright electricity coalesced around them, rumbling in a tight sphere just over their crossed blades. Their fingertips almost touched with just how close their energies were as they collided, shooting off in erratic trails from between them and exploding into the ground a distance from them. Wind whipped up around them, the earth cracking underneath their feet.

(Shigeru…) (Satoshi…)

Lightoforce and Rift stood side by side on the concrete rail of the King's balcony, watching their masters in awe. Rift bit his lower lip while the clashing energies between the fighters grew out, the center mass of power between their palms throwing out waves of black and bright yellow...

Satoshi could scarcely say that he felt the pain in his body suddenly jolt up.

The earth shook and the spectators cried out in alarm as the energy surrounding the two suddenly imploded inward, and for the brief instant one could see that their hands had actually clasped together. Dark waves and electricity screeched and roared in the bubble of their fused powers. Staring into the other's eyes, Shigeru's glowing a dark un-light and Satoshi's a bright yellow, they pushed into the other with of their physical and energetic might.

"SATOSHI!" "SHIGERU!"

(Augh!) Lightforce cried as she raised her short arm in front of her face and turned her head away, just barely peering towards the massive blasts that threatened to explode out from the barrier. Within the translucent purple the explosion bellowed and pushed, tossing vaporizing chunks of rock and solitary strikes of lightning and darkness in massive arcs. On the balcony, Kasumi and Takeshi both shielded their own eyes while the King stood in the middle of them, his armor glinting with the light of the blast. The beak-like faceplate on his helmet casting a shadow upon his visor.

Under his helmet, the King relinquished a smile. _They will be fine knights_.

…

_Once again, Satoshi found himself walking down a dirt road with a pack hitched onto his back with his sword secure against his hip. A calm look adorned his face, eyes staring onward, to the seemingly unending path that had been following. Ahead, the path dipped down into a valley where the distant roar of some dragon Pokémon could be heard. The silhouette of one of these creatures could be seen flying high over the mountains in the distance. _

_It brought a smile to his face; he had been to this place before, he and his dear partner. _

_Lightforce clung onto his head with her paws, standing halfway on his right should and on the top of his pack. Despite how sore he thought she must've been, she simply stood there and just barely leaned up against his spiky black hair. _

"_Are you sure you don't want me to just carry you, Lightforce? You must be tired after that battle back in Violet Village."_

_She nuzzled the side of his head. (It's okay; I'll be fine, Satoshi…so, is that…?)_

_He nodded. "Yes, it's The Charizard Valley. You know what that means don't you?" _

_Lightforce cocked her head, smiling and looking ahead. (It means…it means we're almost back in the Kanto region, right?) _

"_Yes…We're almost home. After five long years, we're going to see everyone…my mom, the doctor, your own kin in the forest nearby…then there's Shigeru and Rift going back to, I remember. We were all going to meet back in Kyoumei Hikari for a little homecoming celebration."_

_(I can't wait to be back, Satoshi…) "Neither can I, Lightforce."_

…

"…augh…*huff*…*huff*…"

Satoshi was aware of a warm, wet streak running down his shin and a metallic taste in his mouth. He was lying in a pit of something hard…concrete? Yes, definitely concrete. The jagged stuff nearly swallowed him, pieces of it lying across his shoulders. Somewhere in the process of getting smashed into the concrete walls of the arena, he had lost his sword. The dry, dusty scent of floating soil filled his nostrils. Thumping and crinkling sounds came out from in front of him. Shifting his neck, Satoshi slowly opened his eyes.

His sense of smell proved correct. An impenetrable fog of floating, dark brown dust lingered like a ghost of the mighty blast. Slowly the charred, blackened ground was covered in a thin sheet of the tiny bits of dust. Though they were somewhat outside his field of vision, Satoshi could hear the crowd talking amongst themselves.

"…nnnh!" Satoshi grunted, pulling himself out of the hole in the wall, stumbling as he landed on the ground below but steadying himself despite the sharp pain in his chest that made him wince. He clenched his teeth, slowly shutting his eyes as he carefully lowered himself onto one knee. Blood sprayed from his mouth with a cough, his uninjured hand pressing into the dirt.

His left hand, held in the air before his eyes, throbbed painfully, rips in the flesh visible against blackened flesh. Crimson dripped out from the exposed muscle tissue, miniscule sparks of electricity still visible running over his twitching palm. The blackening of the flesh ran down his hand to his arm, lightening up until it reached his metal arm brace, which was bent back and shredded at the front.

_This is getting me nowhere…this isn't getting either of us anywhere. _

(Satoshi…) Lightforce whispered with worry, her front paws clasped in front of her abdomen. Rift's view swayed slowly over where Shigeru had been, and he softly bit his lip. Kasumi and Takeshi no longer held to the edge, with Harmone standing by their side and sharing their looks of anxiety.

"Son of a…ow…" Shigeru spoke, lifting his head from the dirt with one eye shut tightly, shakily balancing his body on his left hand while the other floated above the ground, tattered and burnt. He dragged himself up onto his knees, head lowered as he took several long breaths interrupted by his coughing. Using his uninjured arm, he wiped the dust settling on his mouth, looking out across the battlefield.

As the dust settled more, Shigeru could make out Satoshi's figure kneeling far across from him in an equally worn state. Dull glints made themselves known in his peripheral vision; both of their swords were jammed into the ground a good hundred yards away from him on each side like cross-shaped tombstones. His brow furrowed and mental sigh came to him, seeing a thin crack running up the center of his own blade.

_That's just great…not like this was going anywhere. We're too even. _

"…*sigh*…"

Shigeru grunted as he rose, his bloody left hand hanging limply over his empty sword sheath. With his right hand, he covered up the wound that had been cut into his chest, caked with dried blood. Though he stumbled at first, he slowly made his way to his rival with a limp in his step.

A frosty feeling crept up Satoshi's back at the sight of Shigeru rising, lumbering towards him. Resisting his own feelings of pain, he shakily reached down with his right hand, pushing himself up to his feet. With resolve in his eyes, Satoshi walked forward to meet his rival…

Fifty yards away…

Forty yards away…

Thirty.

Twenty.

Ten.

One.

Where they stopped, looking into the other's façade, they caught their breaths, faces adorned with a half-glare and half-wear. Both of their faces were covered in a thin sheet of dirt cut with tiny lacerations. Blood trailed from Satoshi's mouth down his chin, while Shigeru still held his right hand to his chest, red streaming between his fingers. Around them, the stadium had fallen silent, waiting for the next move to be made.

"…"

"!"

Rising from his side, Satoshi's right hand extended in front of him. Shigeru looked down at Satoshi's hand. "…What's this?"

"…I can tell that you're as tired as I am. There's no use in either of us going on, we're too evenly matched." Satoshi spoke calmly, despite the blood still flowing slowly from his mouth. "We're going to be out here all night if we continue."

Shigeru silently contemplated his words as the murmurs of the crowd rose. A smirk formed on his mouth, a hoarse laugh emitting from his lips. "Giving up, Satoshi?"

Satoshi managed a smile back. "You were waiting to say the same thing, admit it."

Shigeru's eyes widened for a moment before dropping back down with his smirk slightly lowered. "You know me too well…fine." He said, shrugging as he extended his own hand and grasped his rival's, a friendly shake coming from both. "Good match, Satoshi."

_Wow…not what I was expecting, but certainly not dissatisfying._

In the balcony, Lightforce and Rift stood silently, looking down to see their partners shaking hands while the crowd applauded. Both of them wore their own smiles, almost simultaneously breathing out with relief. Both of their ears went erect as they looked to one another, surprised for a moment before Lightforce turned away from Rift, a blush under her fur. Meanwhile, Rift continued staring to the back of her head, a blush upon his own face. Recovering her nerves, Lightforce gave a lighthearted giggle. (…That was…wow, we certainly are meant for each other, aren't we?)

(…Nothing could be closer to the truth.) Rift answered, smirking as he quickly leaned over and touched his cheek with hers, giving her a shock. With this, the blush under her fur reddened even more, her eyes closing for a moment. (Rift…would you like to explore the city with me tonight? After we leave the arena? Just to spend more time together?)

Rift nodded. (That'd be great. I'll ask Shigeru if you ask Satoshi if it's alright, okay?) (Okay.)

Meanwhile, the Knights next to them clapped along with the rest of the crowd. Above, the barrier began to compress inward with the movement of the psychic Knight's hands, her eyes closed in serene concentration. Kovnorath stood next to the King and bowed his head, staring down to the battlefield. "Well, well, well. I haven't seen this sort of thing in a while."

"A while? It's only been ten years." The King replied, the dim light from the setting sun rebounding off his helm. He discreetly gestured towards Takeshi and Kasumi. _It was when these two battled for their own right to knighthood._

"…That barrier thing really does work. I feel like we haven't fought yet!" Shigeru said moments after the barrier over them dissipated, the wounds all over his body instantly sealing up, even the deep cut he had across his chest. Even then, he sighed as he noticed the damage to his clothing and armor remained, from the rip in the chest to the burnt end of his left sleeve under the bent, frayed end of his forearm brace.

"Too bad clothes aren't stitched up too, huh? Oh well…that was a great fight, Shigeru. You trained Rift pretty hard, didn't you?"

"Just about as hard as you trained Lightforce, Satoshi. Next time, though…we're going to crush you both."

"Yeah…right." Satoshi responded, turning towards the balcony that towered high in front of them as the King moved towards it, the crowd silent once more…

…

_We did it. _

The night sky above gave them some source of light with a ceiling of stars and the crescent moon to the east. At this time of night, many of the cottages they passed already had their lanterns put out, while some still had them on, the blazes in them adding to the light provided overhead. At the corner of a crossroads, two royal guards sat idle in the grass, nodding to Satoshi and Shigeru as they passed by them.

"Quite a homecoming, Satoshi?" Shigeru spoke, shifting the leather strap he had attached to his pack. "Aye." Satoshi answered with a short glance to his right shoulder, having grown accustomed to the weight that had been there. He rolled his shoulder experimentally, letting out a sigh.

Shigeru noticed as they stopped at a fork in the dirt road, looking over to a cottage that had a scroll on a sign hanging over it. "Let me guess, you're worried about Lightforce?"

"No, I know she and Rift can handle themselves, but…" He trailed off, his right hand digging into his satchel while the other gripped absentmindedly at the grip of his sword, dragging his fingers over the course leather.

Having had her on his shoulder at nearly all times had really made him used to the feeling. For the most part, the only times when Lightforce was not there hanging onto the side of his head was when they had stopped on their journeys to eat and the like. The other times were when they slept, and even then she was usually curled up right beside him.

"…I'm not used to not having her with me is all." Satoshi finally finished, his thoughts wandering on where she and Rift were right now. Shigeru smirked and nodded, crossing his arms. "Well, you're not the only one. Travelling with the same Pokémon for five years really gets you attached to them. But hey, they feel the same way, I bet."

A calm feeling wove its way through Satoshi. _He's right, what am I fussing about? She's going to be back tomorrow, probably a little sleepy, but she'll be back. _

Shigeru turned towards the left fork in the road, takinga single step before pausing. Before Satoshi could ask if everything was alright, Shiegru turned back towards him. "Hey, about Rift and Lightforce…" he began, immediately gaining Satoshi's attention once more. "They really are some pretty close friends, aren't they?"

Satoshi nodded. "Of course, didn't they both come from the same area of the forest? They've been friends for…well, as long as I remember, like you and me."

"Yeah, but did you notice that they wanted us to let them go off by themselves, y'now, just the two of them? You know what that means, right?"

"Hmm…" Satoshi hummed, bowing his head at a slight angle in thought. He shrugged. "It means they won't be lonely while getting used to all the nooks and crannies of the city, right?"

Shigeru raised his hands up to shoulder height at his sides, a slight shake of his head. "That's true, but that's also not what I meant, Satoshi. Guess again."

_Let's see…_

The young Knight scratched the back of his head, eyes past his shoulder in thought. He stood idle for a few moments as Shigeru waited for an answer, his smirk still there on his face. A finger went below Satoshi's lip, his thumb rubbing at the side of his chin. Suddenly, his eyes widened, a slight jolt in his head. _…Woah, how didn't I see it…_

"They…"

"Aye, Satoshi, our partners are in love. Good to know you see it too." Shigeru spoke. His smirk dropped to a frown as he noticed Satoshi recoil slightly. "What's the matter?"

"…I thought they were really just out training with each other."

Shigeru's palm went to his face before he could stop the impulse, shaking his head in defeat. "Tell me, are you really the same person I just fought at the castle arena?"

Satoshi groaned. "Sorry, I get it. If that's what they really went out for, then that's great. I may be dumb when it comes to seeing love but I do understand what it is."

"Good to know…well, I'd think it's time for both of us to see the inside of our own homes for the first time in, say five years. How about we meet up at the Doctor's tomorrow, Satoshi? Maybe we can share what we saw on our journeys." Shigeru suggested as small streams of dust blew at their feet with a gust of wind. "Sounds great, and I'm sure we're in for quite a warm welcome home, right?"

"Aye. See you later, Satoshi." Shigeru spoke before turning back towards the fork in the road, intertwining his fingers behind his head as he walked. Once he was out of Shigeru's form became hidden by a grove of trees, Satoshi sighed and began to walk down the other road, eyeing the peak of Mt. Silver in the distance. He began to whistle as a lantern in the distance made itself visible.

_Home, sweet home. _

_..._

I need to stop being so busy, don't I?

Until next time. It's good to be back!


End file.
